The Club Championship is an annual event, comprising 9 events, 3 each at 10k, 10m and 1/2m. The races are mainly in Kent, with the occasional excursion into Sussex or Essex. Points are scored in two ways - firstly by finishing position, and secondly by earning bonus points if a personal best is achieved. There are four categories in the Championship:
A partially completed list of past winners can found here.
The 2008 events have been confirmed as follows (The results from Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells have been updated from those originally posted):
2008 Club Championship - Latest Positions
| Race (Click on link for results) | Date |
| Canterbury 10 Miles | 27 January |
| Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon | 24 February |
| Folkestone 10 Miles | 21 March |
| Paddock Wood Half Marathon | 30 March |
| Whitstable 10K | 5 May |
| Larkfield 10K | 18 May |
| Dartford Half Marathon | 20 July (tbc) |
| Givauden (Ashford) 10K | 12 October |
| Sittingbourne 10 Miles | October (tbc) |
| Thanet 10 Miles | December (tbc) |
Please note that the 10 Mile races will be the best 2 out of 4 this year. This is because we were asked to take the Canterbury 10 out of the championship because a large group of harriers were going out the night before, but in fairness to those who had already entered we decided to leave it in.
In order to make sure that everyone has the points they're entitled to, Mike Murdoch has asked that those Harriers who have, or who are intending to compete in Club Championships supply him with the following information - previous personal best time (for 10k, 10m and 1/2 m), when it was achieved and at what race. Mike can be contacted by e-mail, or by phone on (01634) 379892.
2007 Club Championship
The final positions for 2007 can be found here.
The 2007 events were as follows:
| Date | Event | Race Reports (By Mike Murdoch) |
| 21st January | Dartford 10m | This year’s competition kicked off at the Dartford 10, which had been cancelled in 2006. It was a welcome return for this popular race, with a field of 839 including 26 Maidstone Harriers. The race started and finished at the new Princes Park Stadium. David Thompson, Ian Forrest, Bill Murphy, David Thornby, Lyndon Gurr and Ron Carr all finished under 70 minutes, but all of them were far behind Steve Chalklen who finished 19th in 1:01:37. David Thompson was first Vet and Bill Murphy was first Supervet. Julie Stoppani was first Female. Graham Pearson continued to improve and reduced his PB by over 4 minutes, thus gaining 7 bonus points. |
| 11th March | Hastings 1/2m | 25 harriers took part in the second race of this year’s competition, along with nearly 4000 others. The weather was unusually warm for the time of year, pleasant for running and a bonus for spectators, of which there were several thousand. Only 2 harriers broke the 90 minute barrier. Once again Steve Chalklen was the first harrier to complete the course, finishing in 1:19:46 (a PB), and David Thompson was 2nd harrier finishing in 1:23:35. Ian Forrest was just outside the 90 minute barrier in 1:30:24. David Thompson was first Vet and Ron Carr was first Supervet. Verity Currie was first Female. |
| 1st April | Paddock Wood 1/2m | A large crowd of 1358 turned out for this pre-London favourite, including 27 harriers. Steve Chalklen was the first harrier to finish, more than a minute quicker than his Hastings time and thus setting another PB. Ian Forrest was second harrier, finishing in 1:28:37. Ian Hoad also finished under 90 minutes, the first time he has done so for several years. Ian Hoad was first Vet and Ron Carr was first Supervet. Paula Stockton was first Female. As usual, this was a popular race for achieving PBs. Congratulations to Steve Chalklen, Ian Hoad, Julie Stoppani, Matt Fraser, Graham Pearson, Sarah Brenton, Mailynne Woolley, and Steve Wing. After this race the top two in each club championship group were Ron Carr and David Hattersley (Supervets); Michael White and Ian Hoad (Vets); Steve Chalklen and Graham Pearson (Senior Men); Sarah Brenton and Julie Wing (Ladies). |
| 7th May | Hildenborough 10m | The Maidstone Harriers were a noticeable contingent at this bank holiday race, with 18 finishers out of a total field of 121. Steve Chalklen was first harrier and 4th overall. Steve finished in 58:47, the only harrier to complete in under 1 hour. Michael Murdoch, Lyndon Gurr, Ian Hoad and Ron Carr all finished under 70 minutes. Paula Stockton was the first Lady, Ron Carr was the first Supervet, and Lyndon Gurr was the first Vet so they all picked up maximum points in the club championship. Michael Murdoch equalled his 2001 PB. Matt Fraser and Russell Morling both knocked over 2 minutes off their PBs, so they both picked up some useful bonus points. After this race the top three in each club championship group were Ron Carr, David Hattersley and Grant Woodman (Supervets); Michael White, Ian Hoad and Russell Morling (Vets); Steve Chalklen, Matt Fraser and Graham Pearson (Senior Men); Sarah Brenton, Julie Stoppani and Karena Norton (Ladies). |
| 27th May | Canterbury 1/2m | 14 harriers took part in the Canterbury Half Marathon. Turnout for this race was much lower than usual, perhaps due to the heavy rain, the hilly course, or possibly because many harriers had already completed 2 half marathons so weren’t expecting to gain many points in the club championship. No harriers finished under 90 minutes but Lyndon Gurr came closest, achieving a rare PB to finish in 1:30:57. Julie Stoppani was first Lady and achieved her second PB of the year, enabling her to move up into first place in the group. Ron Carr was the first Supervet and Graham Pearson was first Senior Male. After this race the top three in each club championship group were Ron Carr, David Hattersley and David Hutchinson (Supervets); Michael White, Ian Hoad and Lyndon Gurr (Vets); Steve Chalklen, Matt Fraser and Graham Pearson (Senior Men); Julie Stoppani, Sarah Brenton and Julie Wing (Ladies). |
| 3rd June | Beckenham 10k | 14 harriers took part in the first 10K of this year’s club championship. The turnout was lower than usual, partly because the race limit was reached and some had to be turned away. The weather was very hot and sunny, and this combined with the hills meant that no one achieved a personal best. The course was 2 laps so the hills had to be tackled twice. Steve Chalklen was 1st harrier and 8th overall, in a time of 36:41. Ian Hoad was first Vet and Ron Carr was first Supervet. Sarah Brenton was first Female. After this race the top three in each club championship group were Ron Carr, David Hattersley and David Hutchinson (Supervets); Ian Hoad, Michael White and Lyndon Gurr (Vets); Steve Chalklen, Graham Pearson and Matt Fraser (Senior Men); Sarah Brenton, Julie Stoppani and Karena Norton (Ladies). Ron Carr and Steve Chalklen continue to stretch their leads in their groups, with several others competing for second place. There is closer competition in the other 2 groups, especially in the Vets group with Ian Hoad leading by 6 points over Michael White, both ahead of Lyndon Gurr and David Thompson who have races in hand. Likewise in the ladies group Sarah Brenton currently leads by 8 points but Julie Stoppani has a race in hand. |
| 16th September | Faversham 10k | There were 407 finishers in this year’s Faversham 10K, organised by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Among them were 20 Harriers. Sharon Hawkins was the first harrier and 27th overall, finishing in a time of 40:34, 2 seconds ahead of Mike Murdoch. Sharon entered this race as a Maidstone Harrier, rather than run for her No.1 club Invicta East Kent. The first Vet was Lyndon Gurr with a time of 41:48, and the first Supervet was Ron Carr in 42:55.
Matt Fraser improved his PB by over 5 minutes, from 52:08 to 47:06, so he picked up 8 bonus points in this race. Jonathan Harrison went one better, improving his PB by over 10 minutes, from 53:01 to 42:43. This allowed him to be awarded 10 bonus points, the maximum we award in a single race. After this race the top three in each club championship group were Ron Carr, David Hutchinson and David Hattersley (Supervets); Ian Hoad, Michael White and Lyndon Gurr (Vets); Steve Chalklen, Matt Fraser and Graham Pearson (Senior Men); Sarah Brenton, Julie Stoppani and Karena Norton (Ladies). |
| 7th October | Sittingbourne 10m | 21 Harriers entered the final 10 Mile race in the series, out of a total field of 264 runners. Lyndon Gurr put in an impressive performance, finishing first harrier and 32nd overall, in a time of 1:07:22. He was the only harrier to finish under 70 minutes, and was 3 minutes ahead of the second harrier, Ian Hoad.
Jonathan Harrison was the first Senior Male, achieving another PB in the process. Russell Morling also shaved a couple of minutes off his PB and is getting closer to the 70 minute target. Karena Norton was our first Female, with a time of 1:24:27, and over a minute ahead of our second lady Sarah Brenton. Ron Carr was the first Supervet, with a time of 1:12:16. After this race, and with only one more race left, the top three in each group were: |
| 28th October | Wilmington 10k | The final race in this year’s championship was the Wilmington 10K, organised by the Cambridge Harriers. A large field of 490 runners finished, including 19 harriers. The most notable performance was that of Dave Davies, who finished 26th overall in a time of 38:31, the only harrier to finish under 40 minutes. It is not often that we see Dave race these days, but he showed that he is still in top form. Not bad for someone in the M50 category.
Lyndon Gurr was second harrier and first in the Vet category, 2 minutes ahead of his nearest rival Ian Hoad and also the first Senior Male Ian Forrest. Ian Hoad was 21 points clear at the top of the Vets group, so this race made no difference for him. But Lyndon’s 15 points for finishing 1st Vet plus his 3 bonus points for getting a PB meant that he closed the gap on Michael White to finish just 1 point behind Michael in the final table. The unexpected absence of Steve Chalklen meant that Matt Fraser and Graham Pearson were left to fight it out to see who would be the Senior Male champion. Graham started the race 7 points ahead of Matt, but Matt had a race in hand. Both men showed their competitive spirit by getting PBs, but Matt’s race in hand gave him the advantage and he gained enough points to claim top spot. Ron Carr stayed away from this race, having already won the Supervets championship for another year. Grant Woodman moved into second spot, only 6 points behind Ron, and David Northcroft moved into the top 3 for the first time this year. Incidentally, David was our first M60 in this race. Paula Stockton was the first Female to finish, 128th overall, in a time of 44:01. But the championship decider was between Julie Stoppani (45:06, PB), Karena Norton (49:50) and Sarah Brenton (51:23). Karena and Sarah both picked up 1 point in this race but Julie was able to overtake them both to finish in the top spot. Julie last won the Club Championship the first two years it was held, back in 1995 and 1996. In summary, the Club Champions for 2007 are Julie Stoppani (Ladies), Ron Carr (Supervets), Ian Hoad (Vets), and Matt Fraser (Senior Men). The 10K, 10M and Half Marathon prize winners will be announced at the club awards evening on 16th February. |
2006 Championship
The 2006 championship was completed with the final race at the Thanet 10m. A race report from Mike Murdoch is below:
Eighteen harriers braved the wet and windy conditions to take part in the final race in the club championship. The tough conditions, including a strong headwind on the final 3 miles, were reflected in the times, with most runners suffering by a minute or two. David Thompson was the first harrier to finish in a time of 64:16, which placed him 19th. Second-claim member Michael Gore, running for Invicta East Kent, finished 13th in a time of 62:28.
Only two harriers enjoyed PBs on this occasion. Michael White continued to improve by knocking just over 2 minutes off his previous best. His position in the race plus his bonus points for his PB were just enough to enable him to win the championship by 1 point!
The only other harrier to achieve a PB was Matt Fraser. He started the yea with a 1:36:11 at the Canterbury 10, this was followed by a 1:32:21 at the Weald of Kent 10 in June, and finally he achieved 1:17:23 at Thanet. Well done!
Ron Carr was the first Supervet to finish, in a time of 1:10:41, closely followed by Grant Woodman. Liane Foord was the first of 5 females to finish, in a time of 1:21:53, 4 minutes ahead of the next lady, Verity Currie.
After the 9th and final race in the 2006 series, the top three in each group are:
Supervets = Ron Carr (88 pts), Grant Woodman (82 pts), and David Hattersley (75 pts)
Vets = Michael White (94 pts), David Thompson (93 pts), and Ian Hoad (84 pts).
Senior Men = Richard Unwin (100 pts), Matthew Fraser (84 pts), and Mike Murdoch (64 pts).
Ladies = Verity Currie (98 pts), Liane Foord (85 pts), and Sarah Brenton (76 pts).
The full results can be found by clicking on the categories above.